‘I THOUGHT I’D NEVER SING AGAIN’
A shaken Delta has opened up about her terrifying health scare
Delta Goodrem was just 18 when she was faced with the toughest battle of her life: being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2003.
Now, 17 years later, the singer has opened up about another heartbreaking health condition that threatened to take away her speech and voice.
Last week, the singer bravely shared a moving clip that documented the complications from her 2018 surgery, which involved the removal of a
salivary gland. Complications following the surgery led to the paralysis of a nerve in her tongue. “I don’t want to go out, I’m super embarrassed... I’m super embarrassed, I’m just over it! I’m just trying to stay positive,” Delta said, struggling to form words as she wept.
“My livelihood is my sound... I’m trying to decide whether this is getting any better or not. It doesn’t feel like it,” she said in the video, which she began filming nearly two years ago.
With a heavy lisp and stutter, Delta struggled to communicate due to the paralysis, but thankfully she’s made a full recovery since.
The multi-aria award winner is now using her experience, which saw her hospitalised for months, as inspiration for her new single Paralyzed.
“As a songwriter, I write songs from my own experiences.
I tell stories about the path I’ve been on, wondering if anyone else has been on a similar journey. The first step in writing this new record was a personal transformation I didn’t know I needed in my life,” Delta told her social media followers. “You never know what someone is going through and this is an extremely hard time for people. So I send this story to you with the message of hope and love.”
LONG STRUGGLE
Fans were quick to flood the Born To Try singer’s social media pages with messages of well wishes and support, with many questioning why The Voice coach waited almost two years to reveal her struggle.
However, as others pointed out, when a nerve is damaged there is no telling when or if it may recover.
In the footage, Delta documented her testing rehabilitation, which included daily speech therapy to get her voice back.
“I’m taking this as a rebirth thing... rebirth... 34,” she said, noting her age at the time.
Other emotional footage showed the former Neighbours actress practising vowel and consonant sounds.
The superstar singer had kept the surgery a secret until last week, deciding to announce it across social media as a way of explaining why she had not released any new music.
“It’s been a strange process not actually sharing it straight away, but I just didn’t know if I was ready yet,” Delta admitted in the clips.
Her usually private boyfriend, guitarist Matthew Copley, didn’t hold back from supporting his long-time lover. “So proud of you,” he said before calling the hitmaker his “inspiration”.
While the six-minute clip showed Delta in complete contrast to her usual jovial self, it’s not the first time she’s had to find the resilience to overcome a health scare.
Earlier this year, Delta opened up about her harrowing cancer battle that threatened her life.
The star told Who she “shook uncontrollably for 24 hours” after being told she had Hodgkin’s, which is a cancer of the lymphatic system that can affect the bones and organs such as the liver and lungs.
Months before being diagnosed, Delta suffered a lump in her neck, night sweats, exhaustion and unexplained weight loss.
The singer has since admitted that remission was extremely confronting and she struggled to see her body change.
Since beating cancer, Delta insists that her health remains her absolute priority.
‘I’m trying to decide whether this is getting any better...’